Structures of and methods of fabricating trench-gated MIS devices

ABSTRACT

In a trench-gated MIS device contact is made to the gate within the trench, thereby eliminating the need to have the gate material, typically polysilicon, extend outside of the trench. This avoids the problem of stress at the upper corners of the trench. Contact between the gate metal and the polysilicon is normally made in a gate metal region that is outside the active region of the device. Various configurations for making the contact between the gate metal and the polysilicon are described, including embodiments wherein the trench is widened in the area of contact. Since the polysilicon is etched back below the top surface of the silicon throughout the device, there is normally no need for a polysilicon mask, thereby saving fabrication costs.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/104,811 filed on Mar.22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,838,722.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to metal-insulator-silicon semiconductor devicesand in particular to such devices in which the gate is formed in atrench.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a class of metal-insulator-silicon (MIS) devices in which thegate is formed in a trench that extends downward from the surface of thesilicon or other semiconductor material. The current flow in suchdevices is primarily vertical and as a result the cells can be moredensely packed. All else being equal, this increases the currentcarrying capability and reduces the on-resistance of the device. Devicesthat fit into the general catagory of MIS devices includemetal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), insulated gatebipolar transistors (IGBTs) and MOS-gated thyristors. Cross-sectionalviews of a single gate trench in a MOSFET, an IGBT and a MOS-gatedthyristor are shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

In such devices the gate material, often polysilicon, must be connectedto the leads of the device package and to external circuitry by means ofa conductive pad, typically metal. To accomplish this, the trench isfilled to overflowing with the gate material and the gate material ispatterned using lithography and etching. Following the patterning, thegate material normally is restricted to the inside of the trench in theactive areas of the device, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In the areaswhere the contact is to be made to the gate material, however, the gatematerial extends outside of the trench and overlies the surface of thesilicon. This is shown in the three-dimensional cutaway view of aconventional MIS device 40 in FIG. 4, wherein in an inactive gate metalarea 41 a polysilicon layer 42 extends outside the trenches 44 andoverlies the epitaxial silicon layer 46. Trenches 44 are lined with agate oxide layer 47 which insulates the polysilicon layer 42 from theepitaxial layer 46. The ends of the trenches are designated 43. Aportion of the polysilicon layer 42 overlies a thick field oxide region48. The area of contact between a subsequent gate metal layer andpolysilicon layer 42 is designated 45.

FIG. 5A is a top view of the gate metal area 41 of the same device. FIG.5B is a cross-sectional view of the same device taken at cross-section5B-5B (drawn to a different scale from FIG. 5A). In this embodiment theMIS cells 54 in the active area 56 are square. Polysilicon layer 42 andthe area of contact 45 between gate metal 49 and polysilicon layer 42are shown. FIG. 6 is a similar top view taken in the gate pad edge andtermination region of the device.

The corners of the trenches are known to be sources of stress, leadingto defect-related problems in devices. This is shown in FIG. 7, which isa detailed cross-sectional view taken near the end of one of trenches44. The upper trench corners, represented by 52, typically oxidize in amanner that leads to local thinning of the oxide and a lower breakdownvoltage across the oxide. The sharper the corner, the more serious thisproblem becomes. Moreover, when a voltage difference is applied betweenthe gate and the adjacent semiconductor material (P-body in FIG. 7,which in a MOSFET is normally shorted to the source), the electric fieldreaches a maximum at the trench corners as a result of field crowding.This leads to leakage currents from Fowler-Nordheim tunneling throughthe gate oxide and limits the maximum usable gate voltage of the device.The field-crowding problem is present even if the gate oxide layer isperfectly uniform, and it becomes worse as the trench corner becomessharper.

For these reasons, many manufacturers use various techniques forrounding the trench corners. It is difficult, however, to round theupper trench corners sufficiently to avoid the problem of an excessivegate leakage current, and it is likely to become more difficult to do soas cell densities increase.

Furthermore, the process used to fabricate trench-gated MOSFETs normallyinvolves many mask steps and yields an uneven topography that hindersthe definition of very small features. FIGS. 8A-8I illustrate the stepsof a conventional process performed on an N+ silicon substrate 802. Theprocess begins with a first photoresist mask A1 which is formed over anoxide layer 804 and patterned, using normal photolithographic processes,to define the areas where P-tubs will be formed (FIG. 8A). The P-tubsare used to reduce the strength of the electric field at the corners ofthe trenches. P-type dopant is implant through openings in mask A1 toform P-tubs 806, and mask A1 is removed. After P-tubs 806 are driven inby heating, which thickens oxide layer 804 (FIG. 8B), a second mask A2is deposited and patterned to define the active region 808 of thedevice, the oxide layer 804, which has become a field oxide layer,remaining in a termination region 810 of the device (FIG. 8C).

Mask A2 is removed, and a third, trench mask A3 is formed and patternedto define where the trenches will be located. Trenches 812 are thenetched, typically using a reactive ion etch (RIE) process (FIG. 8D).Trenches 812A and 812B are interconnected (in the third dimensionoutside the plane of the paper) and trench 812C is an optional “channelstopper” trench which is located on the outer edge of the terminationarea. After the trenches have been etched and mask A3 has been removed,a sacrificial oxide layer is formed and removed to repair any crystaldamage that occurred during the RIE process. A gate oxide layer 813 isformed on the walls of the trenches 812.

A polysilicon layer 814 is deposited and doped, filling trenches 812 andoverflowing onto the surface of the silicon. A fourth, polysilicon maskA4 is deposited on polysilicon layer 814 and patterned (FIG. 8E).Polysilicon layer 814 is etched back into the trenches 812, except for aportion that is allowed to extend from trench 812B onto the field oxidelayer 804 in the gate bus area. It is through this extension of thepolysilicon layer 814 that electrical contact with the portion ofpolysilicon layer 814 in the trenches 812 is made.

Mask A4 is then removed, and P-type dopant is implanted and driven in toform P-body regions 816 (FIG. 8F). While this dopant also gets into thepolysilicon layer 814, its concentration is too low to create anyproblems there.

A fifth mask A5 is deposited and patterned to define areas where N-typedopant is to be implanted to form N+ source regions 818 (FIG. 8G). AfterN+ source regions 818 have been formed and mask A5 has been removed, aborophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layer 820 is deposited and reflowed. Asixth mask A6 is formed and patterned to define where contact to thesubstrate (P-body regions 816 and N+ source regions 818) and to the gate(polysilicon layer 814) is to be made (FIG. 8H). P-type dopant isimplanted to form P+ body contact regions 821 and then a metal layer 822is deposited. A seventh mask (not shown) is formed over metal layer 822and patterned. Metal layer 822 is etched through the seventh mask toform a source metal 822A and a gate bus 822B (FIG. 8I). Optionally, apassivation layer is deposited, and if so an eighth mask (not shown) isformed and patterned to define the source and gate pads, where externalcontact to the MOSFET will be made.

There are several disadvantages with this process. First, eight masksare required and this leads to considerable complexity and expense.Second, the presence of the field oxide layer 804 and the extension ofthe polysilicon layer 814 outside the trenches yields a raisedtopography in the area of the gate bus 822B. This raised area createsproblems in photolithography, particularly as the dimensions of thesedevices extend further into the submicron range. Third, breakdown mayoccur across the gate oxide at the upper corners of trench 812Bpolysilicon layer 814 and substrate 802.

Therefore, what is needed is a process that is simpler, yields a flattertopography and avoids the breakdown problem at the upper corners of thetrenches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a structure and technique for avoiding theproblem of voltage breakdown at the upper corners of the trenches in atrench-gated MIS device. A trench-gated MIS device is formed in asemiconductor chip which comprises an active area containing transistorcells, a gate metal area containing no transistor cells; and a gatemetal layer. A trench is formed in a pattern on a surface of thesemiconductor chip, the trench extending from the active area into thegate metal area, the trench having walls lined with a layer of aninsulating material. A conductive gate material, normally polysilicon,is disposed in the trench, a top surface of the gate material being at alevel lower than a top surface of the semiconductor chip. Anonconductive layer overlies the active and gate metal areas, and anaperture is formed in the nonconductive layer over a portion of thetrench in the gate metal area. The aperture is filled with a conductivematerial, often referred to as a “gate metal”, such that the gate metalcontacts the conductive gate material in an area of contact that iswithin the trench.

Since the gate material does not overflow the trench onto the surface ofthe semiconductor chip, the gate material does not extend around theupper corners of the trench. This avoids the stress that occurs when avoltage difference is created between the gate material and thesemiconductor material.

Numerous embodiments according to this invention are possible. Forexample, to create a good electrical contact between the gate materialand the gate metal, a width of the trench at the area of contact betweenthe gate contact material and the gate material may be greater than awidth of the trench in the active area. The gate metal may contact theconductive gate material in a first gate finger, the first gate fingerbeing perpendicular to a second gate finger, the second gate fingerextending from the active area into the gate metal area and intersectingthe first gate finger.

Another aspect of this invention relates to a process of fabricating anMIS device. The process requires fewer masking steps than conventionalprocesses and yields a device with a relatively flat topography which ismore amenable to very fine photolithographic processing. The processcomprises forming a trench mask over the surface of a semiconductorsubstrate, the trench mask having an aperture defining the location of atrench; etching through the aperture in the trench mask to form a trenchin the substrate; removing the trench mask; forming a firstnonconductive layer on a wall of the trench; depositing a layer of aconductive gate material such that the gate material overflows onto thesurface of the substrate outside the trench; etching the gate materialwithout a mask such that a top surface of the gate material is reducedto a level below the surface of the substrate; depositing a secondnonconductive layer over the surface of the substrate, forming a contactmask over the second nonconductive layer, the contact mask having anaperture; etching through the aperture in the contact mask t6 form agate contact aperture in the second nonconductive layer; removing thecontact mask; and depositing a second conductive layer over the secondnonconductive layer, the second conductive layer extending through thegate contact aperture to make contact with the gate material.Optionally, etching through the contact mask may form a substratecontact aperture in the second nonconductive layer, and the secondconductive layer may extend through the substrate contact aperture tomake contact with the substrate, and the process may include forming ametal mask over the second conductive layer, the metal mask having anaperture; and etching the second conductive layer through the aperturein the metal mask. The process does not include a mask for etching aportion of the gate contact material and may not include a mask foretching a portion of an oxide layer to form a field oxide region.

Many variations of the process are possible, and the process can be usedto fabricate a variety of MIS devices, including MOSFETS, IGBTs,MOS-gated thyristors. The process can also be used to fabricate a MOSFETwith integrated Schottky or polysilicon diodes.

The invention also includes an MIS device having a relatively flattopography. In particular, the gate bus does not overlie a thick fieldoxide region. Rather, a nonconductive layer (e.g., BPSG) overlies thetop surface of the semiconductor substrate. A conductive layer,typically metal, overlies the nonconductive layer. The nonconductivelayer contains apertures through which the metal layer makes electricalcontact with the substrate in the active region of the MIS device (e.g.,the source and body in a MOSFET). A gate bus also overlies the samenonconductive layer. The thickness of the nonconductive layer under thegate bus is substantially the same as the thickness of the nonconductivelayer in the active region of the device. In some embodiments, a gatecontact trench filled with a conductive gate material is formed in thesubstrate below the gate bus, and the gate bus is electrically connectedto the gate material through an aperture in the nonconductive layer.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, two or moreprotective trenches are formed on the opposite sides of the gate contacttrench. This allows the gate contact trench to be made wider and deeperthan the trenches in the active region of the device without adverselyaffecting the breakdown voltage at the bottom of the gate contacttrench.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a single gate trench in a MOSFET.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a single gate trench in an IGBT.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a single gate trench in a MOS-gatedthyristor.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional cutaway view showing how the gate iscontacted in a conventional MIS device.

FIG. 5A is a top view and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the gatemetal area of the MIS device shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top view taken in the gate pad edge and termination regionof the MIS device.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of a gate trench, showing the areas of stressat the upper corners of the trench.

FIGS. 8A-8I show the steps of a conventional process for forming atrench-gated MOSFET.

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional cutaway view of an MIS device inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional cutaway view of an MIS device inaccordance with the invention which contains a P-tub in the mesas.

FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional cutaway view of an MIS device inaccordance with the invention which contains a P-tub which extendsunderneath the trench.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view made by a scanning electron microscope(SEM) a MOS capacitor fabricated in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling current as afunction of the voltage between the gate and the silicon for varioustypes of MOS capacitors.

FIG. 14 is an overall top view of an MIS chip showing how the activeregions, the gate pad regions, the termination regions, and the gatemetal regions might be configured.

FIG. 15A is a top view of the gate metal and active regions of an MISdevice in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15B is a top view of the edge termination and gate pad regions ofthe first embodiment.

FIG. 15C is a cross-sectional view of the gate contact area in the firstembodiment.

FIG. 16A is a top view of the gate metal and active regions of an MISdevice in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16B is a top view of the edge termination and gate pad regions ofthe second embodiment.

FIG. 16C is a cross-sectional view of the gate contact area in thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 16D is a detailed top view of the intersection between a gatefinger and the gate finger in which contact between the gate metal andpolysilicon is made in the second embodiment.

FIG. 16E is a cross-sectional view of the trench in the secondembodiment.

FIG. 16F is a cross-sectional view of the intersection between a gatefinger and the gate finger in which contact between the gate metal andpolysilicon is made in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17A is a top view of the gate metal and active regions of an MISdevice in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17B is a top view of the edge termination and gate pad regions ofthe third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a top view of the gate metal and active regions of an MISdevice in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 is a top view of the gate metal and active regions of an MISdevice in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 20A-20F illustrate the steps of a process of fabricating a contactbetween the gate polysilicon and gate metal in an MIS device inaccordance with this invention.

FIGS. 21A-21I illustrate the steps of a process in accordance with theinvention for fabricating a trench MOSFET.

FIGS. 22A-22I illustrate the steps of a process for forming a trenchMOSFET with an integrated Schottky diode.

FIGS. 23A-23J illustrate the steps of a conventional process for forminga trench MOSFET with integrated polysilicon diodes.

FIGS. 24A-24I illustrate the steps of a process in accordance with theinvention for forming a trench MOSFET with integrated polysilicondiodes.

FIGS. 25A-25F illustrate the steps of a process in accordance with thisinvention for fabricating a MOSFET by growing the body regionepitaxially.

FIG. 26A shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional gate contacttrench.

FIG. 26B shows a cross-sectional view of a gate contact trench and apair of protective trenches in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 27A shows a polysilicon MOSFET that can be fabricated using theprocess shown in FIGS. 24A-24I.

FIGS. 27B and 27C show top and cross-sectional views, respectively, fora particular embodiment of a polysilicon MOSFET.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention, the polysilicon or other material used tofill the trenches in a trench-gated MIS device is etched back orotherwise held back within the trench such that contact between the gatefilling material and the gate metal is made within the trench. The gatefilling material does not overlap the upper corners of the trench,thereby eliminating the problems that arise from the stress at the uppercorners of the trench. (Note: As used herein, “polysilicon” designateswhatever conductive material is deposited in the trench as a gatematerial, it being understood that in some embodiments metal or otherconductive materials may be used instead of polysilicon as the gatematerial; similarly, “gate metal” is used to designate the conductivematerial that is used to form a contact with the gate material withinthe trench, it being understood that in some embodiments polysilicon orother conductive materials may be used instead of metal as the “gatemetal”.)

FIG. 9 shows a partial view of a trench-gated MIS device 80 formed in anN-epitaxial (epi) layer 82 which is grown on an N+ substrate 81. AP-body region 83 is shown in N-epi layer 82. A gate trench 84 is linedby a gate oxide layer 85 which connects with an oxide layer 89 on thetop surface of N-epi layer 82. Trench 84 is partially filled with apolysilicon gate 86 having a top surface 87 which is within trench 84(i.e., below the top surface of N-epi layer 82). In this embodimenttrench 84 includes a somewhat wider transverse portion 84A. A portion 88of the top surface 87 in transverse portion 84A indicates where contactwill later be made between polysilicon gate 86 and a gate metal layer(not shown).

In contrast with the similar MIS device 40 shown in FIG. 4, thepolysilicon within trench 84 does not extend around the upper corners ofthe trench in the manner of polysilicon layer 42. This avoids the stressproblems described above.

FIG. 10 shows an MIS device 90 which is similar to MIS device 80 exceptthat a P-tub 91 is formed in N-epi layer 82 in the mesa between thetrench segments to shield the gate trench 84. In the MIS device 100shown in FIG. 11, P-tub 101 extends into the area directly below thetrench 84. MIS devices 90 and 100 are designed to have high breakdownvoltages.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view made by a scanning electron microscope(SEM) of a MOS capacitor fabricated in accordance with this invention.The polysilicon gate is shown as 110 and the gate metal as 112. A BPSGdielectric layer 116 overlies the mesas between the segments of trench114 and provides insulation between the gate metal 112 and the uppercorners of trench 114.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling current as afunction of the voltage between the gate and the silicon for varioustypes of MOS capacitors. Curves A-E are for the following devices:

TABLE 1 Curve Type of Device A Conventional Planar Device B DeviceAccording to Invention with Square Cells C Device According to Inventionwith Stripe Cells D Conventional Device with Square Cells E ConventionalDevice with Stripe Cells

According to FIG. 13, in the range from about 25V to 50V the FNtunneling currents are much lower for devices according to the inventionthan for conventional trench-gated devices and in fact they are quitesimilar to the currents for conventional planar devices.

The principles of this invention can be applied to a wide variety ofconfigurations. Several examples, by no means exhaustive, are shown inFIGS. 15A-15C, 16A-16F, 17A, 17B, 18 and 19. All of these examples showa series of parallel “gate fingers” which leave the active area of anMIS device and enter a gate metal region of a termination or gate padregion. As used herein, the term “gate finger” refers to an extension ofthe gate trench into a region outside the active region of the MISdevice, e.g., sometimes referred to as the “gate metal” or “gate bus”region or the “termination” or “edge termination” region. FIG. 14 is anoverall top view of an MIS chip showing illustratively how the active,gate pad and the edge termination regions might be configured. It willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous alternativeconfigurations are possible.

FIG. 15A shows a first embodiment of the invention. A square-celledMOSFET 140 includes an active region 141 and a gate metal region 142. Aseries of parallel gate fingers 143 extend from active region 141 intogate metal region 142. The edges of the source metal are designated 144;the edges of the gate metal are designated 145. Areas 146 designate theareas of contact between the polysilicon within gate fingers 143 andgate metal 145. It will be noted that gate fingers 143 expand into wideportions 147 to accommodate areas of contact 146. This allows for a goodelectrical contact to be made in the trench, spaced from the uppercorners of the trench, even though the dimensions of the active cellsbecome very small. FIG. 15C shows a cross-sectional view of one of theareas of contact 146 at cross-section 15C-15C, showing a gate metal 148and a BPSG layer 149. FIG. 15B shows a top view of a portion of MOSFET140 that adjoins a termination region 150 and a gate pad 151.

FIG. 16A shows a second embodiment of the invention. MOSFET 160 containsan active region 161 and a gate metal region 162. The edge of the sourcemetal is shown as 164 and the edge of gate metal 168 is shown as 165. Aseries of parallel gate fingers 163 extend from active region 161 intogate metal region 162. An area of contact 166 between the gatepolysilicon and gate metal 168 is made in a gate finger 167 whichextends perpendicular to gate fingers 163. In this embodiment, gatefinger 167 is wider than gate fingers 163, but this need not be thecase. FIG. 16C shows a detailed cross-sectional view taken atcross-section 16C-16C in FIG. 16A. FIG. 16B is a top view of MOSFET 160in the vicinity of a termination region 170 and a gate pad 171.

There could be problems in filling the trench at the intersectionsbetween gate fingers 163 and gate finger 167, inasmuch as gate finger167 is wider than gate fingers 163. This possible problem is illustratedin FIGS. 16C-16F. FIG. 16C is a detailed top view of the an intersectionbetween one or gate fingers 163 and gate finger 167. The view atcross-section 16E-16E, shown in FIG. 16E, shows a section of the trenchfilled with polysilicon 173, whereas at the intersection between gatefinger 163 and gate finger 167, represented as cross-section 16F-16F andshown in FIG. 16F, polysilicon 173 does not fill the trench completely.

This problem can be overcome in the third embodiment, shown in FIGS. 17Aand 17B. MOSFET 180 is similar to MOSFET 160 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B,except that gate fingers 183 are more widely spaced than gate fingers163, and gate finger 187 becomes narrower at the intersections with gatefingers 183. Areas of contact 186 between the gate polysilicon and thegate metal do not extend into the areas where gate fingers 183 and 187intersect. Thus the possible problem caused by the width of gate finger187 at the intersections with gate fingers 183 is avoided. Of course,the spacing between gate fingers 183 is variable and need not be greaterthan the spacing between gate fingers 163 in MOSFET 160. FIG. 17B is atop view of MOSFET 180 in the vicinity of termination region 190 andgate pad 191.

A fourth embodiment, shown in FIG. 18, represents another way ofovercoming the possible trench filling problem described above. MOSFET200 is 10, somewhat similar to MOSFET 160 shown in FIG. 16A, in thesense that parallel gate fingers 203 running from active region 201 togate metal region 202 intersect gate finger 207 at right angles, but inMOSFET 200 the intersections between gate finger 207 and gate fingers203 coming from opposite sides of gate finger 207 are offset, resultingin “T” interesections. As a result, the filling of the trench at theintersections is improved as compared with the configuration shown inFIG. 16A. Contact between the polysilicon gate and gate metal is made inan area of contact 206 which runs longitudinally along gate finger 207.

A fifth embodiment, shown in FIG. 19, is like MOSFET 140 shown in FIG.15A in that gate fingers 223 include wide portions 227 where contactbetween the gate polysilicon and the gate metal is made. In MOSFET 220,however, the wide portions 227 are offset from each other in thelongitudinal direction of gate fingers 223, thereby allowing thedistance between gate fingers 223 to be reduced beyond what wouldotherwise be possible.

A process for making a gate contact within the trench is shown in FIGS.20A-20F. The process begins with a semiconductor chip which includes anN-epitaxial layer 301 grown in an N+ substrate 300 using a knownprocess. A photoresist trench mask 302 is formed in the surface of N-epilayer 301, as shown in FIG. 20A. A trench 303, shown in FIG. 20B, isformed by reactive ion etching (RIE) through the opening in trench mask302. In embodiments where certain portions of the trench are widened toallow for the gate contact (see FIGS. 15A, 16A and 17), this isaccomplished by adjusting the width of the opening in the trench mask.Trench mask 302 is then removed

Typically, a sacrificial oxide layer (not shown) is formed on the wallsof the trench to repair crystal damage done during the RIE etch, and thesacrificial oxide is then removed. A gate oxide layer 304 is thermallygrown on the walls of the trench. A polysilicon layer 305 is depositedover the top surface of N-epi layer 301, filling the trench 303,yielding the structure shown in FIG. 20B.

Polysilicon layer 305 is then etched back, as shown in FIG. 20C, until atop surface 306 of polysilicon layer 305 is below a top surface 307 ofN-epi layer 301. It is important that the polysilicon layer 305 beetched back far enough that it no longer overlaps the upper corners oftrench 303. Surface 306 of polysilicon layer 305 can be just below topsurface 307 of N-epi layer 301. Note that, since the polysilicon isetched back uniformly throughout the chip, this process step cannormally be performed without a mask, thereby reducing the costs offabrication.

Next, a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layer 308 is deposited over thetop surface of the structure, and masked with a photoresist layer 309.An opening 310 in the photoresist mask is formed over the centralportion of the trench 303. such that the edges of opening 310 are spacedlaterally inward from the walls of the trench 303. The resultingstructure is shown in FIG. 20D.

BPSG layer 308 is etched through the opening 310 in photoresist layer309, producing a gate contact opening 311 which is generally coincidentwith opening 310 and which extends to the surface 306 of polysilicon305. Photoresist layer 309 is then removed, yielding the structure shownin FIG. 20E.

As shown in FIG. 20F, a metal layer 312 is deposited. Since contactbetween metal layer 312 and polysilicon 305 occurs entirely within acentral region of the trench 303, and since the width of the gatecontact opening 311 is less than the width of the top surface 306 ofpolysilicon layer 305, proximity between the polysilicon layer 305 andthe N-epi layer 301 at the upper corners of trench 303 is avoided. It isthis proximity that creates the stress problems described above.

As described above, the Conventional process for forming a trench-gatedMOSFET requires numerous mask steps (eight in the example shown in FIGS.8A-8I) and leaves a ridge in the area of the gate bus which makesphotolithography at small dimensions difficult. Another aspect of thisinvention is an improved process which avoids these problems.

FIGS. 21A-21I illustrate the steps of a process in accordance with thisinvention. The process starts with an N-layer 402, which could be an epilayer overlying an N+ substrate. Optionally, a thin oxide layer 404 maybe formed on the surface of layer 402 for adhesion of the photoresistmask or to provide a hard mask for resist etch selectivity reasons or toavoid later oxidation. Next, a first photoresist mask B1 is formed andpatterned to define the locations of the trenches. Since the layer 402is very flat, mask B1 may be thinner than the masks required in theprior art (e.g., mask A3 shown in FIG. 8D), and smaller features(trenches) may therefore be defined. Trenches 406 are etched throughmask B1 using RIE. Trenches 406 include trenches 406A in an active area407, a gate bus contact trench 406B in a termination area 409, and anoptional channel stopper trench 406C in a channel stopper area 411 (FIG.21A). Trenches 406A and 40613 are connected together in the thirddimension.

After trenches 406 have been etched, mask B1 is stripped, and asacrificial oxide layer (not shown) is grown on the walls of trenches406 and etched to remove crystal defects caused by the RIE process. Agate oxide layer 408 is grown on the walls of trenches 406. Apolysilicon layer 410 is deposited, doped and etched back untilpolysilicon layer 410 remains only inside the trenches 406 (FIG. 21B).Note that unlike the process described in FIGS. 8A-8I, this processrequires no polysilicon mask to pattern polysilicon layer 410. Are-oxidation may be performed if a thicker oxide layer is needed overthe mesa and termination areas.

A second mask B2 is deposited and patterned to define the regions wherethe body implant is to be introduced into layer 402. A P-type dopant isimplanted through openings in mask B2 and driven in to form P-bodyregions 412 (FIG. 21C). Unlike the process described in FIGS. 8A-8I,this process requires no mask to define the active area (see, e.g., maskA2 in FIG. 8C). If the designer wishes to pattern the body within themesa region to achieve a “split-well” structure, as described in J. Zenget al., ISPSD 2000, pp 145-148, the fact that the surface of the layer402 is very flat makes small feature lithography easier. The implantenergy of the P-type dopant is selected such that the dopant penetratesthe oxide layer 408 but not the mask B2. If oxide layer 408 is toothick, it may be etched back to facilitate penetration by the implant.

The mask B2 is then stripped, the structure is cleaned and the P-typedopant is annealed and diffused to achieve the desired junction depthwithin the N-type layer.

A third mask B3 is deposited and patterned to define the locations ofthe source regions. N-type dopant is implanted through opening in maskB3 to form N+ source regions 414 (FIG. 21D). Note that the N-type dopantis kept out of the termination area and the periphery of the active areabut is allowed into the region near the “channel stopper” trench 406C,forming N+ regions 415, which prevent a surface inversion layer fromforming. The surface of the structure is still very flat, makingphotolithography relatively easy. The oxide layer 408 may need to beetched down with mask B3 in place, depending on the ion species to beimplanted through the oxide layer 408.

Mask B3 is stripped and the structure is cleaned again.

A layer 416 of a dielectric such as BPSG is deposited and densified ifnecessary. A fourth mask B4 is deposited over BPSG layer 416 andpatterned to define the contact openings (FIG. 21E). Since the structureis still quite flat, this lithography step may be performed with athinner layer of photoresist than, for example, mask A6 shown in FIG.8H. After BPSG layer 416 is etched through openings in mask B4, mask B4is removed and P-type dopant is implanted to form P-type contact regions418 (FIG. 21F). This implant reduces the resistance between the metallayer to be deposited and the body, and it may also be used to shiftavalanche breakdown from the region adjacent to the trenches to thecentral region of the mesas between the trenches, as described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,072,266 to Bulucea et al. If this technique is hamperedbecause the body junction is too deep, a series of distributed avalancheclamps can be created by patterning regions where the body implant isblocked, creating curved junctions where the dopant diffuses laterally.The spacing between the curved junctions can be controlled to set thebreakdown voltage to be lower than that of the active trenches. Thesource contact must be interrupted in these regions. Alternatively, thebreakdown voltage can be set by designing the breakdown voltage in thetermination area 409 to be lower than the breakdown voltage in theactive area 407.

Note that the contact is made to the gate within trench 406B, therebyeliminating the need for a polysilicon mask. The flatness of the layer402 makes it easier to define a small contact opening in the BPSG layer416.

Alternatively, two separate masks can be used to form the contactopenings through BPSG layer 416 to the polysilicon layer 410 in gate buscontact trench 406B and to N-layer 402, respectively, instead of using asingle mask B4.

The structure is now subjected to a high temperature anneal in the rangeof 750° C. to 950° C. This activates the P+ contact implant, activatesthe N+ source implant (if it has not already been activated) anddensifies and smoothes the BPSG layer 416.

A metal layer 419 is deposited, and a fifth mask B5 is deposited overmetal layer 419 and patterned (FIG. 21G). Metal layer 419 is etchedthrough openings in mask B5 into a source metal portion 419S, a gatemetal portion 419G, a field plate 41F, and an edge termination 419E. Apassivation layer 420 is deposited over metal layer 419, and a sixthmask B6 is deposited and patterned (FIG. 21H). Passivation layer 420 isetched through openings in mask B6 to expose source metal portion 419S(FIG. 21I). Next, the wafer can be thinned by grinding it from the backside, and a layer of back side metal can be applied as is customary toform the drain contact.

The process illustrated in FIGS. 21A-21I offers a number of advantagesover prior art processes such as the one shown in FIGS. 8A-8I. Theprocess of this invention has fewer steps and is less costly. Forexample, six masking steps are required instead of eight. A high degreeof silicon flatness is maintained throughout the process until metaldeposition, and this helps in the photolithographic delineation of smallfeatures and the fabrication of small cell pitches. All contact to thegate is made within the trenches, thus avoiding the current leakageproblems that occur as a result of Fowler-Nordheim tunneling through thegate oxide at the upper corners of the trenches when the polysilicongate material extends out of the trenches and onto the top surfaces ofthe mesas.

In addition, the area around the “channel-stopper” trench 406C is freeof P-type diffusions and may be provided with a field plate that iscoupled to the drain via trench 404C as shown in FIG. 21I. The N+regions 415 at the periphery track the drain potential because the sawededge of the chip behaves as a resistive short to the drain. Thisstructure improves the reliability of higher voltage terminations byterminating any inversion layer that may form as a result of chargesover the terminations or hot carrier aided walk-out.

The process shown in FIGS. 21A-21I may be adapted simply to provide atrench MOSFET with an integrated Schottky diode, such as a Trench-MOSBarrier Schottky (TMBS) device. FIGS. 22A-22I illustrate the steps of analternative process for forming a trench MOSFET with a Trench-MOSBarrier Schottky device. The process includes one additional maskcompared with the process shown in FIGS. 21A-21I.

The process starts with an N-silicon layer 502, which again couldoverlie a heavily-doped substrate. Optionally, a thin oxide layer 504may be formed on the surface of layer 502 for adhesion of thephotoresist mask or to provide a hard mask for resist etch selectivityreasons or to avoid later oxidation. Next, a first photoresist mask C1is formed and patterned to define the locations of the trenches. Sincethe surface of layer 502 is very flat, mask C1 may be thinner than themasks required in the prior art (e.g., mask A3 shown in FIG. 8D), andsmaller features (trenches) may therefore be defined. Trenches 506 areetched through mask C1 using RIE. Trenches 506 include trenches 506A inan active area 507, a gate bus contact trench 50613 in a terminationarea 509, an optional channel stopper trench 506C in a channel stopperarea 511, and trenches 506D in a Schottky diode area 513 (FIG. 22A).Trenches 506A and 506B (and optionally trenches 506D) are connectedtogether in the third dimension.

After trenches 506 have been etched, mask C1 is stripped, and asacrificial oxide layer is grown on the walls of trenches 506 and etchedto remove crystal defects caused by the RIE process. A gate oxide layer508 is grown on the walls of trenches 506. A polysilicon layer 510 isdeposited, doped and etched back until polysilicon layer 510 remainsonly inside the trenches 506 (FIG. 22B). Like the process described inFIGS. 21A-21I, this process requires no polysilicon mask to patternpolysilicon layer 510. A re-oxidation may be performed if a thickeroxide layer is needed over the mesa and termination areas.

A second mask C2 is deposited and patterned to define the regions wherethe body implant is to be introduced into layer 502. A P-type dopant isimplanted through openings in mask C2 and driven in to form P-bodyregions 512 (FIG. 22C).

Like the process described in FIGS. 21A-21I, this process requires nomask to define the active area (see, e.g., mask A2 in FIG. 8C). Theimplant energy of the P-type dopant is selected such that the dopantpenetrates the oxide layer 508 but not the mask C2. If oxide layer 508is too thick, it may be etched back to facilitate penetration by theimplant.

The mask C2 is then stripped, the structure is cleaned and the P-typedopant is annealed and diffused to achieve the desired junction depthwith the N-type layer 502.

A third mask C3 is deposited and patterned to define the locations ofthe source regions. N-type dopant is implanted through opening in maskC3 to form N+ source regions 514 (FIG. 22D). Note that the N-type dopantis kept out of the termination area and the periphery of the active areabut is allowed into the region near the “channel stopper” trench 506C,forming N+ regions 515. The surface of the structure is still very flat,making photolithography relatively easy. The oxide layer 508 may need tobe etched down with mask C3 in place, depending on the ion species to beimplanted through the oxide layer 508.

Mask C3 is stripped and the structure is cleaned again.

A layer 516 of a dielectric such as BPSG is deposited and densified ifnecessary. A fourth mask C4 is deposited over BPSG layer 516 andpatterned to define the contact openings (FIG. 22E). Since the structureis still quite flat, this lithography step may be performed with athinner layer of photoresist than, for example, mask A6 shown in FIG.8H. After BPSG layer 516 is etched through openings in mask C4, mask C4is removed. An additional fifth mask (contact block) C5 is deposited andpatterned to cover the Schottky diode area 513 and a portion of thechannel stopper area 511. P-type dopant is implanted to form P-typecontact regions 518, with mask C5 preventing the dopant from gettinginto the Schottky diode area 513 (FIG. 22F). This implant reduces theresistance between the metal layer to be deposited and the body, and itmay also be used to shift avalanche breakdown from the region adjacentto the trenches to the central region of the mesas between the trenches,as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,266 to Bulucea et al. If thistechnique is hampered because the body junction is too deep, a series ofdistributed avalanche clamps can be created by patterning regions wherethe body implant is blocked, creating curved junctions where the dopantdiffuses laterally. The spacing between the curved junctions can becontrolled to set the breakdown voltage to be lower than that of theactive trenches. The source contact must be interrupted in theseregions. Alternatively, the breakdown voltage can be set by designingthe breakdown voltage in the termination area 509 to be lower than thebreakdown voltage in the active area 507.

Note that the contact is made to the gate within trench 506B, therebyeliminating the need for a polysilicon mask. The flatness of the layermakes it easier to define a small contact opening in the BPSG layer 516.

The structure is now subjected to a high temperature in the range of750° C. to 950° C. This activates the P+ contact implant, activates theN+ source implant (if it has not already been activated) and drives itto a lower junction depth, and densities and smoothes the BPSG layer516.

A metal layer 519 is deposited, making contact in particular with the N+source regions 514 and P-body regions 518 in the active area 507, andwith the surface of the layer 502 in the Schottky diode area 513. Asixth mask C6 is deposited over metal layer 519 and patterned (FIG.22G). Metal layer 519 is etched through openings in mask C6 and dividedinto a source metal portion 519S in Schottky diode area 513 and activearea 505, a gate metal portion 519G, a field plate 519F, and an edgetermination 519E. A passivation layer 520 is deposited over metal layer519, and a seventh mask C7 is deposited and patterned (FIG. 22H).Passivation layer 520 is etched through openings in mask C7 to exposesource metal portion 519S (FIG. 22I). Next, the wafer can be thinned bygrinding it from the back side, and a layer of back side metal can beapplied as is customary to form the drain contact.

Note also that the availability of the fifth mask C5 allows the fourthmask C4 to be held back from the trench 506C, creating an opening inBPSG layer 516 that exposes N+ regions 515 and allows metal layer tomake contact with N+ regions 515 as well as the polysilicon in trench506A. This provides better contact between the field plate edgetermination and the drain.

Alternatively, a trench-MOS barrier Schottky (TMBS), an MPS rectifier,or a junction barrier Schottky (JBS) may be formed within the samegeneral process flow. The Schottky diodes may be interspersed among theMOSFET cells in the active area or may be grouped in a separate part ofthe chip, as shown in FIGS. 22A-22I. The process of FIGS. 22A-22Iprovides a cost-effective method of replacing the conventionalMOSFET-Schottky combination, currently available in a two-chip form. Ascompared with the basic process shown in FIGS. 21A-21I, only a contactblock mask (mask C5 in FIG. 22F) needs to be added. In the eight-maskprior art process shown in FIGS. 8A-8I, including Schottky diodes wouldraise the mask count by two (a body block mask and a contact blockmask), resulting in a total of ten masks.

Another alternative of the basic process allows the integration ofpolysilicon diodes into the device. FIGS. 24A-24I illustrate the stepsof such a process which involves the addition of one mask.

The conventional process is illustrated in FIGS. 23A-23J, requiring 9masks. An oxide layer 604 and a first photoresist mask D1 are depositedon an N+ silicon layer 602 and are patterned with openings in the areaswere P-type tubs are to be formed (FIG. 23A).

A P-type dopant is implanted through the openings in mask D1 and drivenin, forming P-type tubs 606 (FIG. 23B). After mask D1 has been removed,a second photoresist mask D2 is formed with an opening defining thelocation of an active area 608. Oxide layer 604 is etched through theopening in mask D2 (FIG. 23C), and mask D2 is removed. A thirdphotoresist mask D3 is formed, defining the locations of the trenches.Layer 602 is etched to form trenches 610 in active area 608 and a trench612 in the channel stopper area (FIG. 23D).

A sacrificial oxide layer is formed and removed from the walls oftrenches 610, 612, and a gate oxide layer is formed on the walls of thetrenches. A polysilicon layer 614 is deposited and an N-type backgrounddopant is implanted into polysilicon layer 614. A low temperature oxide(LTO) layer 611 is deposited. A fourth photoresist mask D4 is depositedover the region of polysilicon layer 614 where the diodes are to beformed. Using photoresist mask D4, LTO 611 layer is etched to form amask (FIG. 25E), and photoresist mask D4 is removed. Polysilicon layer614 is then doped with POC1 ₃, using LTO layer 611 as a mask.

A fifth mask D5 is deposited, and polysilicon layer 614 is etched backinto the trenches 610 except in region 616, where a portion of thepolysilicon is allowed to overlap the edge of the trench and extend overthe oxide layer 604 (FIG. 23F). Mask D5 is removed.

A P-type dopant is implanted in the vicinity of trenches 610 and drivenin to form P-body region 618 (FIG. 23G).

A sixth N+ block mask D6 is deposited and patterned. N-type dopant isimplanted to form N+ source regions adjacent to trenches 610. The N-typedopant also enters portions of polysilicon layer 614, where it formsdiodes 622 and 624 at junctions with the N-type background-doped regionsof polysilicon layer 614 (FIG. 23H). Mask D6 is removed.

A BPSG layer 626 is deposited and a seventh contact mask D7 is depositedand patterned over BPSG layer 626. Openings in mask D7 define wherecontact will be made to various areas of the device. BPSG layer 626 isetched through the openings in mask D7, and P-type dopant is implantedthrough the openings in BPSG layer 626 to form P+ contact regions 625(FIG. 23I). Mask D7 is removed.

A metal layer 628 is deposited, metal layer 628 making contact with thedevice through the openings in BPSG layer 626. An eighth mask (notshown) is formed over metal layer 628. Metal layer 628 is etched throughopenings in the eighth mask to form a portion 628A which contacts theanode of diode 622, a portion 628B which contacts the cathode of diode622 and the source-body regions of the MOSFETs in the active area, and aportion 628C which contacts the cathode of diode 624 (FIG. 23J). Anothersection of metal layer 628 (not shown) contacts the polysilicon gate(which is also the anode of diode 624) in the third dimension.

Portion 628A of metal layer 628 is connected to the polysilicon gate,and portion 628C of metal layer 628 is connected to the drain of thedevice (both in the third dimension). Thus diode 622 connects thesource-body and the gate and diode 624 connects the drain and the gate.However, to fabricate the device requires nine masking steps if a finalpassivation and pad mask are implemented.

The foregoing prior art process can be contrasted with the process shownin FIGS. 24A-24I, wherein the number of masking steps is reduced toseven.

The process starts with an N-layer 702, which could be an epi layeroverlying an N+ substrate. Optionally, a thin oxide layer 704 may beformed on the surface of layer 702 for adhesion of the photoresist maskor to provide a hard mask for resist etch selectivity reasons or toavoid later oxidation. Next, a first photoresist mask E1 is formed andpatterned to define the locations of the trenches. Since the surface oflayer 702 is very flat, mask E1 may be thinner than the masks requiredin the prior art (e.g., mask A3 shown in FIG. 8D), and smaller features(trenches) may therefore be defined. Trenches 706 are etched throughmask E1 using RIE. Trenches 706 include trenches 706A in an active area707, a gate bus contact trench 706B in a termination area 709, and anoptional channel stopper trench 706C in a channel stopper area 711 (FIG.24A). Trenches 706A and 706B are connected together in the thirddimension.

After trenches 706 have been etched, mask E1 is stripped, and asacrificial oxide layer is grown on the walls of trenches 706 and etchedto remove crystal defects caused by the RIE process. A gate oxide layer708 is grown on the walls of trenches 706. A polysilicon layer 710 isdeposited, doped and etched back until polysilicon layer 710 remainsonly inside the trenches 706 (FIG. 24B). A re-oxidation may be performedif a thicker oxide layer is needed over the mesa and termination areas.

A second mask E2 is deposited and patterned to define the regions wherethe body implant is to be introduced into layer 702. A P-type dopant isimplanted through openings in mask E2 and driven in to form P-bodyregions 712 (FIG. 24C). Mask E2 is removed.

A low temperature oxide (LTO) layer 714 is deposited over the surface oflayer 702 to a thickness of, for example 2000 Å, and a secondpolysilicon layer 716 is deposited over layer 714. A blanket implant ofpolysilicon layer 716 with P-type dopant is performed. A third mask E3is deposited over layer 702 and patterned to define the location of apolysilicon diode (FIG. 24D).

Polysilicon layer 716 and LTO layer 714 are etched through the openingsin mask E3, defining the polysilicon diode, and mask E3 is removed. Afourth mask E4 is deposited, and N-type dopant is implanted through theopenings in mask E4, simultaneously forming N+ source regions 718 andthe cathode of a diode 720 (FIG. 24E). Mask E4 is removed.

Next a BPSG layer 722 is deposited and a fifth mask E5 is deposited overBPSG layer 722 and patterned (FIG. 24F). BPSG layer 722 is etchedthrough openings in mask E5 to create contact openings in BPSG layer722, and mask E5 is removed. P-type dopant is implanted through theopenings in BPSG layer 722 to form contact regions 724 (FIG. 24G). BPSGlayer 722 is reflowed by heating.

A metal layer 726 is deposited over BPSG layer 722, establishingelectrical contact with the device through the openings in BPSG layer722. A sixth mask E6 is deposited over metal layer 726 and is patterned(FIG. 24H). Metal layer 726 is etched through openings in mask E6 toseparate metal layer 726 into a portion 726A that contacts thesource-body terminals of the MOSFETs and the anode of diode 720, aportion 726B that contacts the cathode of diode 720 and the polysiliconin trench 706B in the gate bus area of the device, a portion 726C thatforms a field plate in the termination area of the device, and a portion726D that contacts the polysilicon in trench 706C in the channel stopperarea of the device.

The process described in FIGS. 24A-24I can also be used to fabricate apolysilicon MOSFET 730, shown in FIGS. 27A-27C. A trench 706D is etchedthrough the mask E1. Gate oxide layer 708 is grown and polysilicon layer710 is deposited as described above (see FIG. 24B). Mask E2 is depositedand P-type dopant is implanted through openings in mask E2 to form aP-type region 740 in N-epi layer 702. Then, after mask E2 is removed,LTO layer 714 is deposited over the surface of layer 702, and the secondpolysilicon layer 716 is deposited over LTO layer 714 (see FIG. 24D). Ablanket P-type implant of polysilicon layer 716 is performed.

Polysilicon MOSFET 730 can be formed in numerous geographies. Forexample, the source/drain regions may be interdigitated as shown in thetop view of FIG. 27B. FIG. 27C is a cross-sectional view of thestructure shown in FIG. 27B taken at section 27C-27C.

Mask E3 is used to pattern polysilicon layer 716 and LTO layer 714 asshown in FIG. 27A. At the same time mask E3 is used to form an openingthrough polysilicon layer 716 and LTO layer 714 to a gate contact region748 on polysilicon layer 710. After mask E3 has been removed, mask E4 isdeposited and patterned such that the subsequent implantation of N-typedopant through openings in mask E4 forms an N+ source region 742 and anN+ drain region 744 in polysilicon layer 716. N+ regions 742 and 744 areformed at the same time as the cathode of diode 720 (see FIG. 24E).Source region 742 and drain region 744 are separated by a P-body region746 that is located directly over trench 706D.

BPSG layer 722 is deposited and openings in mask E5 are used to etchthrough BPSG layer 722 to a source contact 750, a drain contact 752 anda body contact 754. The openings in BPSG layer 722 are filled with metallayer 726, and mask E6 is used to separate metal layer 726 into source,drain, body and gate segments (not shown). In many embodiments thesource and body segments of metal layer 726 are shorted together or arepart of a single source-body segment of metal layer 726.

Another variation of the process can be used to fabricate a MOSFET bygrowing the body region of the device epitaxially. This process is shownin FIGS. 25A-25F.

Initially, a P-type epitaxial (epi) layer 904 is grown on the surface ofan N-type layer 902. A first mask F1 is then deposited on the surface ofepi layer 904 and patterned. Trenches 906 are etched through openings inmask F1, with trenches 906A in an active region 907, trench 906B in atermination region 909, trench 906C in a channel stopper region 911, anda wide trench 906D in termination region 909 (FIG. 25A). A sacrificialoxide layer (not shown) is grown on the walls of the trenches 906 torepair crystal damage caused by the etching. The sacrificial oxide layeris removed, and a gate oxide layer 908 is grown on the walls of thetrenches 906. A polysilicon layer 910 is then deposited over the surfaceof the device, doped and etched back so that it remains in the trenches906A, 906B and 906C (FIG. 25B). Because trench 906D is very wide,polysilicon layer 910 is removed from trench 906D.

A second mask F2 is deposited and patterned and N-type dopant isimplanted through openings in mask F2 to form N+ source regions 914 andan N+ region 915 around trench 906C (FIG. 25C). Mask F2 is removed.

A BPSG layer 922 is deposited, and a third mask F3 is deposited overBPSG layer 922 and patterned (FIG. 25D). BPSG layer 922 is etchedthrough mask F3, and mask F3 is removed. P-type dopant is implanted toform P+ contact regions 918 (FIG. 25E). The doping concentration of theP-type dopant is not high enough to significantly affect the doping ofpolysilicon layer 910 in trench 906B.

A metal layer 926 is deposited and a fourth mask F4 is deposited overmetal layer 926 and patterned. Metal layer 926 is etched throughopenings in mask F4 to separate metal layer 926 in to a portion 926Athat contacts the source-body regions of the MOSFETs and a portion 926Bthat contacts the polysilicon in trench 906A (FIG. 25F). Mask F4 is thenremoved.

There are several advantages to this process. The number of masksrequired is further reduced to only four. It is a low thermal budgetprocess, since the P-type body dopant, being grown epitaxially ratherthan implanted, does not need to be activated and driven in. This is ofgreat benefit in the manufacture of shallow trench, low thresholdvoltage, and P-channel devices. (Of course, the body dopant would beN-type for P-channel devices.) Since the temperature does not have toexceed about 900° C. after the trenches are filled, materials such astungsten and titanium silicide can be used in place of polysilicon tofill the trenches. The process can be adapted as shown in FIGS. 24A-24Ito fabricate polysilicon diodes and MOSFETs in the same device.

It may be desirable to make the gate contact trench wider than thetrenches in the active area of the device, as shown in FIGS. 15-19. Whenthis is done, unless special precautions are taken in the etchingprocess, the gate contact trench will also be deeper than the trenchesin the active area. This is illustrated in FIG. 26A, which shows a gatecontact trench 950 positioned between two MOSFET trenches 952. Theincreased depth of trench 950 would be of no consequence if the bottomof the trench were covered or shielded by a deep diffusion of the samepolarity as the body. Absent such a deep diffusion, however, thebreakdown voltage will be lower under gate contact trench 950 than underactive MOSFET trenches 952. The potential contours, represented by thedashed line in FIG. 25A, are curved under trench 950, indicating thatthe breakdown voltage is less in that location than under trenches 952.

This problem can be alleviated or overcome by placing shielding trencheson the opposite sides of trench 950, as illustrated by shieldingtrenches 954 in FIG. 25B. Shielding trenches 954 can be the same size asactive MOSFET trenches 952, but this need not be the case. Shieldingtrenches 954 should be positioned close to gate contact trench 950.Preferably the spacing between shielding trenches 954 and gate contacttrench 950 is less than the thickness of the N-epi layer, e.g., the sameas the width of the mesas between the trenches in the active area of thedevice. The mesas between shielding trenches 954 and gate contact trench950 may be allowed to float. In some cases, it may be desirable to formtwo or more shielding trenches on each side of the gate contact trench.The shielding trenches improve the breakdown of the gate contact trenchbecause the limited charge available between the shielding trenches andthe gate contact trench flattens out the potential contours, as shown bythe dashed line in FIG. 25B.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the broadprinciples of this invention can be used to fabricate many embodimentsin addition to those specifically described herein. Accordingly, theembodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative and notlimiting.

1. A trench-gated MIS device formed in a semiconductor chip andcomprising: a first active area and a second active area each comprisingtransistor cells; a gate metal area containing no transistor cells; anda gate metal layer, wherein a plurality of trenches are formed in apattern on a surface of the semiconductor chip, each trench extendingfrom the first active area to the second active area and passing throughthe gate metal area, each trench having walls lined with a layer of aninsulating material, a conductive gate material being disposed in eachtrench, a top surface of the conductive gate material being at a levelbelow a top surface of the semiconductor chip, a nonconductive layeroverlying the active and gate metal areas, a plurality of aperturesbeing formed in the nonconductive layer, each aperture being formed overa portion of a respective trench in the gate metal area such that eachaperture is spaced apart from each other, each aperture being filledwith the gate metal layer such that the gate metal layer contacts theconductive gate material in an area of contact within each trench. 2.The trench-gated MIS device of claim 1 wherein said gate metal layeroverlies the nonconductive layer in the gate metal area, the gate metallayer being in electrical contact with the conductive gate material. 3.The trench-gated MIS device of claim 2 wherein the gate metal layerextends longitudinally in a direction perpendicular to a direction ofeach trench in the gate metal area.
 4. The trench-gated MIS device ofclaim 1 wherein a width of each trench at the area of contact betweenthe gate metal layer and the conductive gate material is greater than awidth of each trench in the first and second active areas.